The alleged mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks that killed 164 in Mumbai, India, has been placed under house arrest in Pakistan.
Hafiz Mohammed Saeed — the leader of Pakistan’s Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) — was detained in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, according to a government statement released late Sunday.
Saeed is under detention in the town of Lahore. Four other men — Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz — have also been placed under house arrest in other towns around Punjab.
The arrests come in conjunction with the placing of two organizations — JUD and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation — on a watch list under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
All the men were detained for being active members of the organizations and are being held under Section 11-EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives the government the power to arrest or detain suspects for up to 12 months.
US blamed for pressuring Pakistan to make arrests
JUD spokesman Hafiz Khalid Waleed has responded, blaming the United States for “putting pressure” on Pakistan to get Saeed arrested and threatening court action as well as street rallies.
He added that Saeed’s house arrest is for 19 days.
“We are going to take this matter to the courts and to the streets. We are planning further rallies across the country in protest of this action,” Waleed said.
Saeed is accused by India and the US of being responsible for the deadly attacks that struck different locations across Mumbai nearly a decade ago, when a group of gunmen went on a three day rampage, using automatic weapons and grenades to strike hotels, cafes, a railway station and a cinema.
Outlawed group, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, meaning “army of the pure,” was widely thought to be responsible. According to the UN Security Council, Saeed’s JUD organisation is synonymous with the terrorist group and supportive of al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Saeed’s denial of involvement in Mumbai massacre
Saeed himself has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Mumbai killings or support for terrorist activities. “Those people who are carrying out violent attacks or are involved in militants activities … are giving the mujahadeen and jihad a bad name,” he said in an interview with CNN in 2012.
“I condemn this attack and the innocent lives that have been lost.”
He also highlighted Jamaat-Ud-Dawa’s charitable activities and extended an offer of aid to the US in the wake of Superstorm Sandy — an offer that was quickly rejected by Washington.
The US State Department describes JUD’s mission as the establishment of Islamist rule in India and Pakistan and has in the past offered as much as $10,000,000 for any information that might lead to his arrest or conviction.